Algae
- Thread starter nihard
- Start date
Six months
Squist
Guest
I used Vibrant with success. It takes time. Embrace the new tank syndrome. It's not easy to sit back and watch and it seems to take forever but your tank is diversifying and building its microbiome. Undesirable algae and dinos will flare up and this is good at the early stage. Keep on keeping on. It will balance out. The more stable you can keep parameters, the better. And the more bacteria diversity you can introduce, IMO, the better. After all, Vibrant is doing and is based on that.
Adding starter corals, inverts, even sand from an established tank is found to help build diversity. There's a lot written about bacteria and reef tank health which is in-part what Vibrant is doing.
Starting a tank journal is a good way to track and share specifics. You'll see in many others, the same issues you're addressing. I know I pulled my share of hair in the 6-12 month stage.
For more about bacteria, here's a start:
https://aquabiomics.com/articles/core-aquarium-microbiome
Lots more to read.
Adding starter corals, inverts, even sand from an established tank is found to help build diversity. There's a lot written about bacteria and reef tank health which is in-part what Vibrant is doing.
Starting a tank journal is a good way to track and share specifics. You'll see in many others, the same issues you're addressing. I know I pulled my share of hair in the 6-12 month stage.
For more about bacteria, here's a start:
Coral-Bacteria Communities are WAY More Important than Anyone Thought | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
Reading through different coral scientific publication, we came across one, that could be quite relevant for us reef aquarist. In this publication published in Nature, scientist from the Red Sea…
reefbuilders.com
https://aquabiomics.com/articles/core-aquarium-microbiome
Lots more to read.
xCry0x
Supporting Member
Did you start with dry rocks or live rocks?
One of the biggest things that churns new people out of this hobby is the ugly phase of the tank, which is magnified when you start with dry rock. It takes the tank a solid year too really get going when started with sterile rocks, sand, etc.
Throughout that period, the bacteria in your tank is building up and while that is going on all sorts of ugly pops up.
Hair algae, diatoms, dinos.
Then seemingly one day it all starts clearing up.
I personally wouldn't sit and dump vibrant in.. I'd go on reef cleaners and buy one of their pre built clean up crews sized for your tank.
If you are dead set on dosing something, I'd use phosphate remover.. carefully.
Thank you!I used Vibrant with success. It takes time. Embrace the new tank syndrome. It's not easy to sit back and watch and it seems to take forever but your tank is diversifying and building its microbiome. Undesirable algae and dinos will flare up and this is good at the early stage. Keep on keeping on. It will balance out. The more stable you can keep parameters, the better. And the more bacteria diversity you can introduce, IMO, the better. After all, Vibrant is doing and is based on that.
Adding starter corals, inverts, even sand from an established tank is found to help build diversity. There's a lot written about bacteria and reef tank health which is in-part what Vibrant is doing.
Starting a tank journal is a good way to track and share specifics. You'll see in many others, the same issues you're addressing. I know I pulled my share of hair in the 6-12 month stage.
For more about bacteria, here's a start:
Coral-Bacteria Communities are WAY More Important than Anyone Thought | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
Reading through different coral scientific publication, we came across one, that could be quite relevant for us reef aquarist. In this publication published in Nature, scientist from the Red Sea…reefbuilders.com
https://aquabiomics.com/articles/core-aquarium-microbiome
Lots more to read.
Yes, I started with dry rocks. Thank you for the advise.
xCry0x
Supporting Member
Their first things they talk about hit on this directly.
1) The first year sucks -- to which Ryan comments his first tank first year was the easiest tank ever because he started right off the bat with fancy expensive live rock.
2) Then he turns around and starts talking about how bare bottom + dry rock sucks and is miserable and not something he would recommend to anyone.
Its a fun watch -- and really hits on something everyone experiences, but for whatever reason, doesn't expect.
Dry rock is great because you avoid pests. But man, when people talk about cycling a salt water tank, the easy part is the ammonia/nitrate part. The hard part is building up actual reef biology -- with dry rock that takes a long time. On the flip side, if you throw a bunch of wet rock from an established tank in there - bam, you can be good to go on day 1.